saggy, disgusting loose skin!

I tried to post this a few weeks ago, and it wouldn't 'stick.' One of the moderators tried to help me, and suggested this particular forum.

I am 54 years old, in September of 2008 I weighed 305. Right now I weigh 264. Slow loss, but still loss, right?

Am already having problems with really saggy skin. Surgery to have that removed will be out of the question. I just don't and will not ever (unless I win the lottery) have the money to do that. I'm getting really nervous about it because of the things that are happening already and what it looks like. I know many of you must have dealt with this........is there anything that can be done to make it at least look a little better? Girdle? Wet suit??

I'm getting a little nervous too. I've lost 64 lbs, and it seems I'm already getting the stereotypical "bat wings." I used to be "hard fat," most places, and now I'm "squishy fat," which is why I haven't changed sizes yet, I think. I'm still about the same dress size only "squooshier." I imagine I'll need full-body "spanx" (or the wetsuit), when I'm done. Or maybe elastic bandages, like a mummy.

I think the plastic surgeons recommend you wait two years after reaching your goal weight to see what tightens up and what doesn't. Those of us who are older have less chance of things tightening than younger people with elasticity left in their skin, of course, but you might find as you continue to lose that some of your loose skin does go away on its own. It's all a very long, slow process, which is frustrating, but you're doing it the right way. And Mandalinn's right, strength training will help.

I have major bat wings going on. My arms have always been freakishly large, and I know that's going to continue to be a problem area for me. My arm muscles are really defined these days, but there's a ton of extra skin just hanging there. It's depressing, and I don't know if I will ever be able to do anything but live with it. Having said that, my arms are much smaller than they used to be, and I'll take them over the ones I used to have.

I've been dealing with this as well, and it's an extremely touchy subject for me. My husband has left me because I'm so unattractive now (that's his current reason). I've got a lot of sagging skin around my arms, belly and inner thighs.

I've done a lot of reading on the subject. Yes, a lot of factors come to play with the saggy skin. First, when we're losing weight, we do get squishier. We're starting to lose the support of the undercarriage of fat. There's a subcutaneous system that holds our fat in place, and as our fat cells shrink, it gets jiggly. It does take a couple of years after we've lost the weight for that undercarriage to snap back into place.

While we are dieting and exercising, our bodies are working in a caloric deficit mode. Our bodies use up all the calories we've taken in for the day, plus another bit from our "storage system" (only about a third of the calories we use daily come from stored fat). If we don't eat enough protein during that time period, our bodies will go for our muscles for fuel as well. That's why it's important to get enough protein, plus to do weight training exercises while we're losing weight. It's also important to do cardio exercises because those specifically burn calories from fat.

So now we're all jiggly and droopy and we're wondering if we're ever going to stop resembling an amoeba. I've been assured by some people, one of whom is in her 50s, that our skin will shrink, but we have to do a few things to help our bodies along with this. We need to get our percentage of body fat down below 20% and keep exercising. And to help it along even more, the skin needs to be dry brushed on a regular basis to remove old skin cells and get the circulation going properly. Deep tissue massage can also help to rejuvenate the connective tissue in our bodies. And make sure to keep drinking adequate water to help clear out toxins during the weight loss process. Hot and cold showers are also reported to help. Good nutrition is also important, to help feed the right nutrients that support better skin health (essential fatty acids and antioxidants).

I guess we all need one more important thing...lots of patience!

I'm actually considering buying one of those post-surgery body compression stocking things to support my whole body and skin while I'm losing weight. I get so discouraged by my sagging skin. I'm going to talk to my doctor about it first, though.

What's aggravating to me, is that I am now within pounds of what I weighed in college, and at that time I had also dropped 50 pounds, and was thinner and firmer after that weight loss. This times around I have the same exact folds that I had when I was heavier, just smaller. I am small and I carried a lot of weight in my back, so my back is now atrocoius looking, and still bulgy in shirts. I had hoped that I'd at least look thinner dressed, and I'm still dealing with the bulk showing thru my clothes. Surgery is not an option for me either.

__________________Kat~~
The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

I lost 80 pounds, from 220-140, and I had saggy skin under my arms, on my sides (upper...by the boobs), not to mention my boobs, inner thighs and stomach. The skin under my arms has tightened some with weight training, but the rest is just gross. I was working out the other day and was bent over...I looked down and saw stomach skin DANGLING.

How has it affected me? I'm about a billion times less confident now than I was before, but it's getting better. My husband hasn't seen me naked in more than a year, and I'm having issues in a lot of areas because I think my body just looks gross.

The area that I noticed the most on me are my breasts and stomach. They are smaller yes, but saggy. The skin feels so droopy.

The fantastic news though is that loose skin is very easy to hide under clothing. Before I may have been firm, but who really cared! I wore tents for clothing and was constantly trying to disguise my girth to no avail. Wonderbras do great things for a small and drooping breast. Slacks that fit properly--or jeans or skirts--do the trick for the tummy.

I would like to have surgery for my breasts and stomach but am not "hung up" on it. I feel much better now than I did before and I certainly look better. I recently had a full physical--my blood pressure and cholesterols were ROCKIN'!

I am giving myself one year after my goal is met and then I will talk with a surgeon to decide if am for or against the surgery.

__________________

"Be who you are, say what you feel. Those who matter, don't mind. Those who mind, don't matter." --Dr. Seuss

I have saggy skin, but it's not all that noticeable under my clothes. At my highest every thing was visible, even with tent shirts and stretch pants, I was super morbidly obese, and EVERYONE knew it. NO hiding it. I don't know, maybe I'll have surgery someday, probably not. I'd rather use the money for a new swimming pool. Then I could put on a bathing suit and not worry who's freaking out on my deflated skin. My husband doesn't seem to mind the extra skin...he's just happy to have "contact"...lol

I don't love my extra skin, but I like it a lot better than skin so tight it was leaving stretch marks and expansion welts. You have 2 choices, stay fat and tight or thin and saggy.

i have to say this is my biggest fear with loosing weight, in the past i have lost about 14-21 pounds and not had an issue but now i need to loose around 50 pounds and i dont know if saggy skin is going to be an issue.

i really hope not.. as i hate my body and being naked in front of my hubby which is causing a lot of upset and is a cause of my depression..

anyway i guess we will see as i plod along.. any suggestions of advice if you think this will be an issue with this amount of weight loss will be appreciated

I had wondered why my diminished body still looked so flabby on the underside of my upper arms, on my stomach and inside my thighs. This stuff looks pleated sometimes & actually floats when I'm lying in the bath tub. I didn't realize loose skin was the culprit until I started reading the 3FC forums regularly. (You learn so much here.) I don't like it, not at all -- but I really cannot see spending $$ on this in this economy, when I am happy to keep my job from quarter to quarter & when I am saving for a down payment on a co-op. The important thing is, I am healthier than when I started. If I have to wear a one-piece Speedo for my swimming lessons on Sunday, so be it. Two years ago, I never would have gotten into a bathing suit AT ALL ... let alone signed up for swimming lessons.

I see surgery as a "maybe," a few years down the line, if I have successfully maintained my new weight & if the economy improves & I do get into a co-op with a manageable mortgage.

Ahhhh yes the saggy skin issue. I'll tell ya, it is a worry. I carry my weight in my stomach (which hangs horribly and pushed everything down south, that also looks horrible), my butt (which isn't so bad), and my thighs (ack...ACK). The bat wings on my arms are...well...hanging and it bothers me, but not as much as the tummy and south of the border.

I mean you can shove things in clothing, yeah whatever, but my whole thing is "how can I make THIS look sexy?" lol

I guess the thing is if someone loves you for you, then they look past all your flaws. Besides I might have surgery one day to remove excess skin and I've done a lot of reading on the subject. I've already spent hours obsessing with before and after picture and to be frank, I've banned myself from it as it was becoming an issue with me. I just need to focus on loosing weight. Carrying around all this weight hurts me emotionally and physically. Having excess skin is going to happen and it does bother me to look at what is currently hanging.

One thing I have read over and over again is not to have surgery until a certain amount of time after you have maintained your goal weight. Some people do have to get surgery because of a health issue though, that is entirely different. I think the minimum amount of time is around 2 years after hitting goal.

*looks at her tummy* I mean I look like a pear...and not that cute thing pear everyone buys at the supermarket. I look like that fat yellowish pear....all chunky and

Hi,
I was thinking about the loose skin after weight loss question, and I agree it doesn't seem fair that after losing the pounds that we have this to deal with next. Anyway, I thought about Kirsti Alley and her weight loss. The only thing I know about her weight loss is when she made a deal with Oprah to come back on the show in a bikini. Since she is in her 50's (I think) I wonder why she did not have excess skin?

One alternative to surgery is to focus on clothing. Most of loose skin problems can be hidden by clothing. For swimming, frankly, I think bikinis are over-rated. I have a black one-piece bathing suit with little translucent panels that I think looks hotter than any bikini I've ever seen. Maybe add a breezy shawl wrap for the beach if skin on the arms are a problem. There is also some very sexy, supportive clothing that can be worn for intimate moments. A lot cheaper than surgery and even those with the tautest skin can really enhance their appearance with the right clothes in the right context.

I worry about this because I have a "double belly" and my lower abdomen is huge, and I just know I'm going to have a ton of extra skin there. I'm not against saving up to get it removed, though. If you should wait two years after you lose the weight, that gives me two years to save up right there. (Right now I'm saving up for the $1500 my insurance doesn't cover of a breast reduction, since I'm 5'1" and a 40I. I was a DD at 135# so I know that even if I lost nearly 100#, my breasts are still going to be way bigger than I want them to be.)

Money is tight, but I figure I have a couple years before I'm even at my final goal, so hopefully things will be better by then.